Prescription Drug Induces a Craving for Water That Leads to Death by Over-Consumption of Water

A London man, Andrew Smith, age 47,  died in November of 2012 from excessive consumption of water.

Smith was suffering from a rare condition known as polydipsia,  which can be defined as excessive thirst.  According to his family,  Smith was taking a prescription medicine which made him very thirsty.  Relatives said that they were aware that he was drinking large amounts of water and that they had mentioned this to his doctor but they were never made aware of the risks of excessive water intake.

Polydipsia  is a general term that  refers both to chronic, excessive thirst as well as excessive fluid intake.

News Article Source.

 Fluoride Defeated 60% to 40% in Wichita Kansas Vote.   National Fluoridation Machine Beaten Soundly by Popular Local Effort

The people of Wichita, Kansas soundly rejected the third attempt to impose public fluoridation of drinking water on Nov. 7, 2012.  Wichita is the second largest non-fluoridated city in the US and as such was the target of a well-financed effort by a coalition of the usual fluoride pushers (the ADA, CDC, Delta Dental, Pew).

One observer said that fluoridation backers were armed with a bottomless pit of money and bushels of media endorsements.   Fluoride-free campaigners focused on public education and generating a city-wide debate prior to the vote.  Their strategy was to keep the debate focused on the science of the issue.

Well known fluoride opponent Dr. Paul Connett gave a total of six presentations in Wichita.

 

 

 

Two Dozen Fall Ill After Drinking Water Contaminated with Propylene Glycol

Some two dozen people got sick after ingesting water contaminated by the chemical propylene glycol at a medical medical facility, Printers Parkway, in Pueblo, Colorado. Both patients and medical personnel were among the afflicted.

Propylene glycol is an additive commonly used in heating systems. Although the Food and Drug Administration has classified it as “generally recognized as safe,”  it can cause nausea and burning of the throat if ingested and it can cause liver and kidney problems or even death if taken in large amounts.

None of those who drank the contaminated water were considered to be seriously ill.  All were treated and released from the hospital on the same day.

The problem was caused by a mechanical contractor, who mistakenly connected the building’s heating system into the water system.

Propylene glycol is a chemical commonly used in heating systems. It is found in many personal care items, like lipstick and lotion, and even some foods and beverages.  It is also a common  ingredient in antifreeze.

Get the full story here.

The London Convention on Sea Dumping

One of the more complicated issues of world environmental regulation is deciding who has authority and who has responsibility when it comes to protecting the oceans from pollution by dumping at sea.

The difficulty in policing the littering of the oceans by dumping at sea is the uncertainty of jurisdiction.

Under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, open ocean for 200 nautical miles around coastal states is called the Exclusive Economic Zone. Outside that area the ocean is called the High Seas. The seabed and ocean floor fall in the same grey area as the High Seas.  The High Seas are international  waters which don’t belong to any one nation.  Since the High Seas are largely without national jurisdiction, the only jurisdiction that applies is the so-called London Convention/London Protocol.

The Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter 1972, commonly called the “London Convention,” is an agreement to control pollution of the sea by dumping and to encourage regional agreements supplementary to the Convention to prevent dumping.  It covers the deliberate disposal at sea of wastes or other matter from vessels, aircraft, and platforms. It does not cover discharges from land-based sources such as pipes and outfalls, wastes generated incidental to normal operation of vessels, or placement of materials for purposes other than mere disposal.  The London Convention went in force in 1975. As of 2005, there were 81 Parties to the Convention.

The main objective of the London Convention and a subsequent amending agreement known as the London Protocol is to prevent indiscriminate disposal at sea of wastes that could become hazards to human health; harming living resources and marine life; damaging amenities; or interfering with other legitimate uses of the sea. The 1972 Convention extends its scope over “all marine waters other than the internal waters” of the States and prohibits the dumping of certain hazardous materials. It further requires a prior special permit for the dumping of a number of other identified materials and a prior general permit for other wastes or matter.

In general, the state whose flag the ship is flying usually has jurisdiction on the high seas.  So wherever the ship is registered, that country has the authority to do something about the waste the ship dumps illegally. The flag state, of course, can only enforce if it has enacted regulations.

A lot more information about ocean dumping.

Wastewater Treatment Plants and Pig Farms  May Be as Dangerous as Hospitals

Although hospitals are the usual source of “superbugs,”  they aren’t the only place you can pick up a virtually incurable infection.  Researchers at the University of Maryland have identified methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, at sewage treatment plants in the mid-Atlantic and the Midwest.

MRSA is a well-known problem in hospitals, where patients have picked up potentially fatal bacterial infections that do not respond to antibiotic treatment.  But since the late 1990s, iMRSA also been showing up in  people outside of health-care facilities.

Outside hospitals, the source of  MRSA is unknown, but recent research, in Sweden and in the United States, indicates that sewage treatment plants may be implicated.  This is of special concern because of increasing reuse of waste water.

A very limited study carried out by the University of Nebraska indicated that 83 percent of the raw sewage tested contained MRSA, but it also found that after chlorination of the wastewater no bacteria were found.

In addition to sewage plants, according to a study conducted in the Netherlands, the risks of getting MRSA  are highest among people living in a region with high concentrations of cattle and pigs.

Hospitals are definitely the greatest danger, but sewage plants where the sewage is not treated with chlorine before release and livestock operations seem to also be sigificant risk areas for MRSA.

 

More from the Baltimore Sun.

President Obama Wins Second Term in Cake-Walk

 

The Pure Water Gazette, the first to call the 2012 presidential election, has declared President Obama the winner  with a relatively comfortable margin with 315 electoral votes.  The Gazette’s announcement comes at 1:38 PM central time, long before the polls close.

Details to follow.

Issue of PCE Plume Resolved by the EPA

The EPA along with the New Mexco Environment Department has completed a new system designed to address a plume of chemicals that were contaminating water at a site in Grants, NM.  Believed to have come from a dry-cleaning business, the chemicals — called “chlorinated solvents”–  had spread through a shallow aquifer and through soil.  The EPA had earlier designated the site for cleanup under the Superfund program.

The cleanup area  was extensive.  It included more than 570 wells placed throughout the plume. The wells are filled with emulsified vegetable oil, which stimulates the breakdown of the chlorinated solvents. The EPA also installed systems within 15 private residences that prevent vapors from contaminated soil from entering the homes. These structures complement earlier treatments that extracted about 1,000 pounds of contamination.

According to the EPA:

Prolonged exposure to the main contaminant, tetra chloroethene or PCE, can damage the nervous system and cause liver and kidney problems. The cleanup prevented contamination from spreading to the city’s drinking water wells, located two miles north of the plume, and to the San Andreas aquifer, the source of drinking water for Grants and nearby Milan, New Mexico.

The city water wells provide drinking water to approximately 14,000 residents in Grants, San Rafael and Milan. The primary contaminant of concern, tetra chloroethene (PCE) had been found at levels up to 51,000 parts per billion (ppb) in the ground water.

More information about the project at Grants.

More information about PCE.

Las Vegas and Clark County Duke It Out Over Storm Channel 

There is a city/county political fight going on in Las Vegas between the city and Clark County officials over who is going to pay for a five-mile pipeline to handle waste water from the Nellis Air Force Base.

Water is currently being allowed to discharge into a county storm channel, but odors and insect issues have rankled area homeowners.  The storm channel has become a breeding ground for chironomid midges and mayflies.

The pipeline is estimated to cost $15 million with North Las Vegas putting up $8 million upfront. The county, which would oversee construction, would cover the remaining $7 million.

The battle over payment has been going on for some time.

North Las Vegas sued the county in federal court, arguing it has a right to discharge the treated wastewater into the channel. But the county called the discharge a nuisance and sought to stop it in state court.

County officials have maintained that the dry channel is intended to handle storm runoff and that the city’s dumping was illegal.

More gory details from the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Focus on Emergency Water Treatment After Sandy

Hurricane Sandy has focused attention on the need for provision of potable water for the home in times of emergency.

Our websites and newsletter have over the years addressed this subject in some detail. Here are some places you might want to look for emergency water treatment.

A Practical Guide to Emergency Water Filters.  A comprehensive and sensible look at how to provide water for emergencies using simple and inexpensive methods. Prepared by Pure Water Products.

Emergency Siphon Filters.  The page shows how to have state-of-the-art Doulton performance without having to buy a $400 metal can to make it work.   “The force of gravity still works during times of emergency.”

How Siphon Filters Work.  The Popular Pure Water Occasional series makes siphon filters simple.

Hurricane Sandy Has Placed a Heavy Burden on New Jersey’s Sewage System

Since the onslaught of Hurricane Sandy,  one of the biggest wastewater treatment facilities in the nation has been pumping around 300 million gallons of raw sewage into the Newark Bay.

The plant was disabled by the superstorm Sandy and environmental regulators were not sure when it would be able to resume operations.  Wastewater treatment plants in New Jersey were hit hard by the storm.  In general, plants lack the capacity to keep up with the extra demands put on the system.

The disabling of the plant is raising public health concerns, and questions as to whether the facility is adequately prepared to handle strong storms.

Environmentalists said climate change will make storms of the same caliber as Hurricane Sandy more frequent, and that government must invest seriously in its infrastructure to safeguard basic services and environmental quality.

Although service to residential users has been maintained, the sewage disposal systems have in  general been overwhelmed and much raw sewage has simply been released.

The plant is located in Newark across from Jersey City near the mouths of the  Hackensack and Passaic rivers.  During high tides on the rivers,  bay water is pulled northward toward Bergen and Passaic counties. The public should avoid fishing or coming in contact with the waters within a few miles of the plant until further notice,  officials warned.

 

More details.